Turkey Lasagna Zucchini Boats
These stuffed zucchini boats are loaded with a ground turkey and tomato sauce mixture. Then topped with parmesan and mozzarella cheese. You’ll love this delicious low carb entree!
I’ve been wanting to do another stuffed zucchini recipe for a while. My Salsa Chicken Zucchini Boats are so easy and flavorful. I actually think I love these Turkey Lasagna Zucchini Boats even more!
This stuffed zucchini gives you that lasagna flavor but with a lot less work and more veggies. Serve these with a simple side salad and dinner is done!
For this recipe you’ll need (full list of ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below):
- Zucchini
- Olive oil
- Ground turkey
- Tomato paste
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Seasonings and herbs
To make this stuffed zucchini start by browning your ground turkey. Then stir in the tomato paste, water, seasonings, and herbs.
Prep the zucchini by slicing off the tops and cutting each in half. Scoop out a bit of the center of each to create a “boat”.
Add the meat mixture in each zucchini boat. Bake for 15 minutes. Top with grated parmesan and mozzarella. Bake a few more minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is tender.
Tips for the best zucchini boats
- Select zucchini that isn’t too large. Four medium zucchini work perfectly in this recipe. They’re the ideal size so you have a great zucchini to meat filling ratio in each serving.
- If you do use larger zucchini (again, I don’t recommend it), make sure you remove the seeds as there are more seeds in large zucchini. You’ll also want to use less zucchini (maybe 3) so that there’s enough filling for each.
- Once the zucchini is sliced in half (the tops should be discarded), lay the zucchini halves on a cutting board or plate. Hold the zucchini so that it remains still and use a small spoon to scoop out the center of the each zucchini half.
- Don’t remove much of the zucchini flesh. It should be a shallow scoop so that the majority of the zucchini remains as part of the “boat”. This keeps the zucchini substantial enough to hold all the filling.
What to do with the zucchini that’s been scooped out?
I don’t scoop out much of the zucchini because I hate to waste any of it. You can even use the flesh that we remove in a smoothie! Zucchini on its own has such a mild flavor that it blends so well in smoothies and you won’t even notice it in there.
Can you make these zucchini boats dairy free?
This recipe includes both parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. To make these dairy free you can omit both and enjoy as is. Feel free to also add nutritional yeast to the meat/tomato mixture as it cooks.
Can you meal prep with this?
Yes! The zucchini will be tender and soft after roasting and will remain so when reheated. I personally love making this entree in advance. It’s a great healthy lunch to have ready to go in the fridge!
Can you freeze zucchini boats?
I don’t recommend freezing these. Zucchini softens as it cooks so freezing and reheating these boats can make them mushy.
How to serve this
Pair this delicious stuffed zucchini with a side salad topped with my Easy Homemade Italian Dressing. (I have another side salad coming next week that’s also perfect with this! I’ll come back and link it here when it goes live.)
Turkey Lasagna Zucchini Boats
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 lb lean ground turkey
- 6 oz tomato paste
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Zucchini
- 4 zucchini
- ½ tsp olive oil, can sub an olive oil or avocado oil spray
- salt and pepper
To Finish
- 3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Optional garnish: fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Add ground turkey to a skillet on the stovetop. Use a spatula to crumble the meat. Cook on medium high, stirring occasionally, until browned. Reduce heat to medium low. Stir in tomato paste, water, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes or until turkey/sauce mixture is warmed through.
- Cut the top (with the stem) off each zucchini. Slice zucchini in half lengthwise to create 2 boats from each zucchini.
- Use a spoon to gently scoop out the center of each. I do a shallow scoop because I hate to waste the zucchini.
- Lay the zucchini boats side by side in a baking dish or baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over top. Use your fingers to spread the oil evenly over the tops of each boat. (Or use an olive oil or avocado oil spray.) Salt and pepper.
- Scoop the ground turkey mixture down the center of the boats.
- Place finished boats in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Top with grated parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Cheese should be melted and zucchini is tender but not soggy.
- Remove from oven and top with fresh chopped basil before serving.
5 Comments on “Turkey Lasagna Zucchini Boats”
This was really good. I would add some red pepper flakes next time because I like a little kick.
So do I! Bet that would be delicious! Thank you, Suzanne!
Great recipe! The change, if any, would be to par cook the zucchini, but just ever so slightly.
I always thought these boats were weird. Lol. Kinda like finger food but not really. While making my grocery list I ran across these again and decided why not. They didn’t disappoint. Really tasty and frankly kinda fun. Thanks for sharing your creativity and love for food. ❤️
So happy this won you over and really enjoyed that you originally thought they were weird!! LOL Thanks so much for trying and taking the time to comment!